Real unit labour costs have risen for the third quarter in a row, as coronavirus-driven reductions unwind, while private sector productivity has dropped for the second time in a year, according to ABS national accounts data released today.
The CPSU has stepped up its criticism of the Morrison Government's public sector wages policy, saying it demands that workers sign up to "unknown" pay rises beyond the first year of new enterprise deals.
The ABS has delivered a small boost to hopes that wages growth might exceed restrained government projections after today's quarterly figures showed an annual lift of 1.5% across the economy.
The number of Australians working from home remains almost double the pre-COVID 19 figure and women are more likely want to expand the arrangement, according to the latest ABS data on how households are faring during the pandemic.
Real unit labour costs surged in the December quarter as the economic recovery gathered pace, while profit and wages shares retreated from the record levels recorded in the September quarter, according to ABS national accounts data released today.
Further evidence of the green shoots of a recovery has been provided with today's release of ABS data showing that private sector pay rates excluding bonuses increased by 0.7% seasonally adjusted and 0.5% in original terms in the December quarter.
Labour costs have now dropped by more than 9% in the past year, while working hours have started to recover, according to ABS statistics released this morning that measure more than six months of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Private sector pay rates excluding bonuses increased by 0.1% seasonally adjusted and 0.5% in original terms in the September quarter, according to the ABS.
